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First City
The First City is recognized by Noddist scholars to be the first city of Kindred mythology as documented by the Book of Nod. History Some claim this city was originally known as Ubar, ruled by mortals and inhabited by the "Children of Seth". After Caine wandered the Land of Nod, ''in loneliness for an "eon", he came to this city to be amongst mortals again. After ruling it for some time, he renamed the city as the "City of Enoch" and ended up turning it into a haven of second and third generation vampires. Though physically destroyed by the Deluge, the ''City of Enoch ''continued its existence in the Underworld, under the direction of the Black Hand. As Ubar According to the Toreador, Katherine of Montpellier, the "First City" was originally known as Ubar, meaning "Queen of Frankincense." At the time that Caine came to Ubar, King Enoch was ruling. The people of Ubar were aware of Caine's mark and both marveled and feared his power. These ''Children of Seth worshiped Caine. Even the King, Enoch, relinquished his kingship, so that Caine may rule. Since Caine had wandered throughout the Cradle of Civilization, he supposedly brought Sumerian technology, namely "the wheel", to this city. Being a farmer most of his life, Caine had also cultivated wonderous and perfect groves that the economy could thrive upon. So, under his rulership the city of Ubar had prospered. , 15 As Enoch The former king, Enoch, desired Caine's power and begged for the chance to be like him. Caine thus granted the young man's wish and embraced him. After the embracing, Caine renamed the city after its former king, the "City of Enoch". At the insistence of Enoch for kindred brethren, Caine embraced Irad and Zillah. Thus, three Second Generation childer co-existed in this city. They in turn learned the ways of making progeny and had embraced the Third Generation. Under Caine's order, he declared it law that no more childer be made. Supposedly they obeyed and the city became the center of a mighty Empire, until the Deluge came and physically destroyed the city and the "Children of Seth". The kindred of three generations of vampires had all parted for some time."VTM: Book of Nod The Tale of the First City; (Supplement p. 46 - 55) As En'esh Some Assamites tell the tale of the King and Queen of En'esh, who were embraced by Khayyin when Haqim was the lord of the armies of the First City; as a mortal, Haqim served under the King and Queen, but they became evil and cruel, so he decided to cut off their heads and use their blood to bestow the embrace upon himself. In the Underworld After the city's physical destruction by the Great Flood, the Underworld preserved the First City in the Shadowlands, another dimensional plane. In the Shadowlands, the True Black Hand could now use the First City as its headquarters. It became the seat of power for the Del'Roh, leader of the sect and the tombs of the Aralu, four vampires believed to be Antediluvians. During the events of , Enoch was destroyed by a relic nuclear weapon. The resulting blast helped cause the Sixth Great Maelstrom and the end of Stygia. The majority of the True Black Hand was destroyed with only a few powerful Kindred, including the Del'Roh, being able to escape. The remnant of Black Hand did not return to Enoch until the Eastern and Western Hands reunited. When they did, they came back to re-create the "First City", protecting it with a citadel made of 10 foot thick, and 100 foot high walls of black marble. These walls were rebuilt after the retaking of the city, in efforts of preventing future attacks by Oblivion-driven monsters. The walls are also guarded by slave wraiths who are trained by sentinels. The recreation of the First City, at the very center of the Black Citadel, is only a reflection of what used to be.VTM: Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand Enoch, The City Caine Built, p. 91 - 95 Geography As the City of Enoch became a mighty Empire, the Antediluvians had made contributions to the city that made it awe inspiring. Some of it's most notable features were: *The statues throughout the city, believed to be the work of Toreador. *A Great Library built by Brujah that stood near the center of the city. *The hanging gardens that were designed by Malkav. *The streets and buildings, designed by Ventrue. *The slave pits that were filled with captured enemies from Irad's conquests. *The Temple of Lilith, a large black-and-red building; *The catacombs, which are now called the Catacombs of the Antediluvians, that contained their tombs; *The Pool of Zillah, a small pool of crystal clear water that provides visions of the future to those who know how to see them; *The prison house for criminals who were used as a source of sustenance; *The training houses of chatterlings. *And finally, there is the High House of Caine, known as the Dread Palace Ghemal, which stood in the very center of the city.VTM: Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand Enoch, The City Caine Built, p. 93 The Palace Caine's palace, the "Dread Palace Ghemal", was a sacred location used to feast upon specially prepared blood of honored vessles. The first level of the palace served as the court of Irad where he led Caine's armies. In the middle of the chamber was Caine's Ivory Throne. The second level provided lavish havens for more than 200 vampires. The third level is thought to be a place where mortals were gathered in droves, to be fed upon by Caine and the Antediluvians. The fourth level may have been where Caine resided as his own personal level. No one knows what the fifth level was used for, however, the Black Hand suspects that it will be used as a place for Caine to pass judgement on all Kindred, come Gehenna.VTM: Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand Enoch, The City Caine Built, p. 93, 94 Gallery First_City.jpg|the First City, as depicted in the Book of Nod First_City_Layout.jpg|First City layout References See Also: * Category:Vampire: The Masquerade glossary Category:Vampire: The Masquerade geography